So, I've been through a number of Binance, Kucoin and CoinList IDOs and listing events over the past few years, and it can be a nice way to get a decent profit if you are prepared and willing to put aside about 15 minutes of your time at the listing opening to try and capitalise on the crazy stupid bot and FOMO fueled volatility that exists in the few minute or two after the market goes live.

This is primarily about unlocked token events like the Binance Launchpads and Kucoin Burning drop unlocks... and it assumes that you don't have access to bots to play the game for you. Also, it is about CEXs... listing on DEXs and AMMs are a completely different matter, and I would argue that those events are really only for those with access to bots and a significant amount of capital that can be also allocated to priority fees to get their transactions in faster.

So, if you are a human... then this is for you!

The first thing that you will need to understand is that pretty much all of the time, these listing events are NOT for buyers. Generally (not always...), the dumping side has the upper hand, as they are unloading tokens at many multiples of what they had paid for them. In this particular case (DAR), the tokens were essentially free, the only cost was the lost opportunity cost that came from staking BNB and BUSD in the Launchpools. But, essentially free... if you are intending to buy the tokens, it is a much better idea to wait it out until there is a more reliable price found and stabilised. Sure... you might have picked up that 2 cent DAR... but if you aren't a bot, it is more likely that you will pick up a 22 DOLLAR DAR!... or at least anything higher than the stabilised price. Don't do it...

So, preparation is key for these events. Have you stash of tokens that you want to dump ready to go, all claimed and in the trading accounts. If there are any trading passwords enabled, you might want to unlock them by doing a quick tiny trade on something unrelated so that you aren't wasting precious time on authorisation of the first trade.

Have in mind EXACTLY how much you are prepared to dump... is it everything, is only a portion? Be disciplined. How much do you want to sell at any market price (dumping), and how much do you want to set longer shot targets for?

In my case for the DAR event, I wanted to dump around 75% of my tokens on market opening (dumping at any price), and 25% percent for the long shot bets (in case I was wrong about the direction of the initial market price)... there is another 20 or so days of staking to collect more, and I don't really have any attachment to Play-to-Earn type tokens, I still think that they are untested and too risky a venture (it relies on the single game becoming and remaining a hit, possible but unlikely).

Set an alarm for the market opening, and get yourself into a quiet room with decent internet access. I prefer to use a computer when I can instead of a mobile, faster rendering times and I wonder if the app is less prioritised than the web version? Set the alarm, and just zen out in front of the computer... running over your plan, calming your mind and watching the timer tick down on your chosen pair (just do one pair, you aren't that fast...). DON'T do anything else... don't read the news, don't play Facebook, don't check your email... you will get distracted, and miss that crucial opening seconds!

Now, it is tempting to try and place high limit orders at the opening of the market. Keep in mind that you can't place orders on the order book until the market is open. However, given that you have absolutely no idea what the price in the first few seconds is going to be... it is more likely that you will place the limit order too high and it won't get triggered. However, the principal reason to avoid limit orders is the sheer volume of incoming maker orders means that your requests are likely to hang, be delayed or fail to register. Too greedy, and not worth it... the likely outcome is that you get nothing. Remember, you are competing against automated traders... however fast you tap that button... you aren't faster than a bot network.

In addition, it just takes TOO much time to faff around with the extra numbers on the limit order (the price and amount). It is easier to just set the amount and keep tapping the market sell.

Instead, be the market TAKER. Place market take orders of set amounts (I used multiple amounts of 10 DAR for this listing)... just take WHATEVER price is going at the moment. I've found that market orders are matched and executed even before the order book has actually refreshed with the current limit orders!

It is possible that you might get the terrible 2 cent deal... but again, it isn't likely, you just AREN'T that FAST! It is more likely that you will get something more in the median range at that point in time. Seeing as you will just hit that market sell button each second or two, it means that you are sort of averaging out the volatility a bit.

Here is a snapshot of some of the orders that went through in the first few minutes of the DAR listing... you can see that there a wide range of prices that went through... and I managed to get a sell order through roughly every 30 seconds or so, at prices that ranged between 3-8 dollars per DAR. Given that the price stabilised at around 3-4 BUSD/DAR, it is quite fine for me (remember, the tokens cost me next to nothing!). So, in the end, not bad for tapping a sell button for less than ten minutes!

Once you have reached your target for dumping, it is time to set up the higher priced limit orders. These are the limit orders in case there is some stupidly huge spike due to low liquidity and FOMO coming together... There is no harm to set them up as far as they will go, you have already taken profit from the dumping anyway!

The other side of it is setting up some limit orders to pick up some cheaper tokens, in case you want to use some of your dumping proceeds to recover your initial position. No harm in it... after all, even if you have little faith in the token/project, there is no harm in having some exposure (just in case you were wrong)... especially it costs you nothing, and you have already taken the profit!

I can also be found cross-posting at:
Hive
Steem
Publish0x

Handy Crypto Tools

Ledger Nano S/X: Keep your crypto safe and offline with the leading hardware wallet provider. Not your keys, not your crypto!
Binance: My first choice of centralised exchange, featuring a wide variety of crypto and savings products.
Kucoin: My second choice in exchanges, many tokens listed here that you can't get on Binance!
FTX: Regulated US-based exchange with some pretty interesting and useful discounts on trading and withdrawal fees for FTT holders. Decent fiat on-ramp as well!
MXC: Listings of lots of interesting tokens that are usually only available on DEXs. Avoid high gas prices!
Coinbase: If you need a regulated and safe environment to trade, this is the first exchange for most newcomers!
Crypto.com: Mixed feelings, but they have the BEST looking VISA debit card in existence! Seriously, it is beautiful!
CoinList: Access to early investor and crowdsale of vetted and reserached projects.
Cointracking: Automated or manual tracking of crypto for accounting and taxation reports.
Stoic: A USD maximisation bot trading on Binance using long-term long strategies, powered by the AI/human system of Cindicator.
StakeDAO: Decentralised pooled staking of PoS assets.